Filament winding apparatus



March 20, 1945. E. siRP K 4 FILAMENT WINDING APPARATUS Filed sept. 15, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet l mm um Y /NvE/vro/E E Suap A' TOENEY March 20, E slRP y# l FILAMENT WINDING APPARATUS s sheets-shea 2 Filed Sept. l5, 1943 /NVE/VTOE Nvm E Suap 1 5V /ffwy 4. LVM

@Trae/Vey E. SIRP FILAMENT WINDING APPARATUS March 20, 1945.

` Filed sept. 15, 1945 imm.

Arme/ver Patented Mar. 20,- 1945 UNITED STATES ParlantorticaI FILAMENT WINDING APPARATUS Emil Sirp, Downers Grove, Ill., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application September l5, 1943, Serial No. 502,494 y (ci. isis-ei) Claims.

This invention relates to filament winding apparatus and more particularly to an apparatus for winding a heaterfilament for radio tubes having a double helix with a supporting lobe formed at one end of the helix.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple apparatus for quickly Winding fllaments with a high degree oi accuracy.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a drum type cam is rotated .through a portion of a cycle and then returned to its original position to move a wire feeding mechanism in opposite directions parallel to the axis of rotation of a mandrel geared to the cam drum, and rotatable in opposite directions when the drum is rotated in opposite directions. The mandrelghas a reduced tip at its free end and diametrically opposed pins set into it adjacent its end around which the vwire from the feeding mechanism will be formed upon reversalof rotation of the mandrel and reversal of direction of movement of the feeding mechanism.

A complete understanding of the invention may be had by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a plan view of an apparatus embodying the features of the invention:

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of a mandrel of the type used in the apparatus and shown on a much smaller scale than in Fig. 1:

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the mandrel shown in Fig. 3 withy a filament coiled upon it;

Fig.'4 is a front elevational view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1;-

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary end elevational view taken substantially along the line 6-5 of Fig. l in the direction of the arrows:

Fig. 6 is afragmentary view in elevation looking in the direction of the arrows along the line 6 6 in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken su `stantially along the line 1-1 of Fig. 1 in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 8 is a developed view of the cam drum forming a part of the apparatus.

In the drawings, a mandrel Il is shown in Figs. 2 and 3 with a filament I2 wound upon it. The mandrel comprises a main body portion I3, a reduced end portion I4 and a chuck entering portion I5. The chuck entering portion of the mandrei has a pin I3 extending through it which is adapted to engage in a bayonet slot I1 of a chuck ment-receiving aperture 2l, through which the filament wire may be passed at the beginning of the winding operation to point the end of the filament wire to the mandrel. After passing the end of the wire through the end of the aperture 2|, the wire may be wrapped around the extending ends of ,a pair ,of pins I9 and then, after wrapping it around the mandrel to form the filament I2, the wire may be wrapped around the reduced camming portion I4 and also around the ends of a pin 20 extending through the body portion I3 of the mandrel. After a filament has been formed on the mandrel, it may be suitably heat-treated so that it will retain the form imparted to it by the winding apparatus constituting the present invenion and, thereafter, the coiled filament may be removed from the mandrel and will retain the configuration shown in Figs. 2 and 3. It will be understood that the portion of the filament wire to the left of the lefthand pin I9 on the mandrel may be discarded and the portions extending between the two pins may serve as terminals of the filament. r

In the apparatus. whichis designed to form this filament, a base'structure 30, which may be mounted on a suitable benchor table 3l, has a bent-up portion 32 which cooperates with a block 33 fixed to the base structure 39 for supporting the various operating portions of the apparatus.

Journalled in the bent-up portion 32 and block 33 is a main drive shaft 34, carrying a cam drum 35. a gear 36 and a hand wheel 31 suitably attached to it. The hand wheel 31 may be provided with a handle 38 for imparting rotation to it and when the wheel 31 is rotated, the cam drum 35 and gear 36 will be driven in the direction that the hand wheel is rotated. Also journalled in the bent-up portion 32 and the block 33 is a shaft 39 having a gear 40 fixed to' it in position to mesh with the gear 36. The right end (Figs. 1 and'fi) of the shaft 39 has a socket 4I formed in it for receiving the chuck-entering end portion I5 of the mandrel which may be locked in the aperture 4I of the chuck I3 by engaging the pin Il in the bayonet slot I1. Any suitablemeans (not shown) may be provided for holding the pin I3 locked in the bayonet slot I1;

Encircling the shaft 39 are a pair of springs En and 5I. The spring 50 is interposed between a collar 62 fixed to the shaft'39 and a collar I3 slidable on the shaft 39, being keyed to the shaft by means of the pin $5 extending into a slot 53 formed in the shaft sa., The spring 5| is posi- IB (Fig. 1). Formed in the mandrel kis a iia- Il tioned between the gear 40 anda rollar 54, which is keyed to the shaft 88 by a pin 51 extending to the slot 88. Two collars 83 and 3l serve as resilient abutments for a yoke member, designated generally by the numeral 58. The yoke member 58 has a semi-circular portion B8 which bears against the outer surfaces of the cam drum 35 and carries an inwardly extending cam pin 88 receiving a guide actuating rod 83, which may be held in place in the aperture 82 by means of a set screw 84. The rod 83 is freely slidable in a bearing member 85 set into the block 33 and serves to actuate a block 88 on which a guide block 81 may be adjustably secured. The block 88 has a T-shaped groove 68 formed in it for receiving the head 88 of a threadedmember 18,

which extends through the guide block 81 and .hasa thumb nut 1I threaded on it. 'I'he guide block 61 supports a pair of filament guiding tubes 12 and 13, which serve to guide the filament I2 tothe mandrel II. The end of the guide tube 13 adjacent the mandrel I I is shown tapered at 14l to facilitate the guiding of the iilament I2 'to' the mandrel in someparts of the operation of the apparatus.

The cam drum 35, as seen most clearly in the vdeveloped view thereof shown in Fig. 8, has a double cam groove 88 formed in it, into which the cam pins 88 extend. The portion designated 8| of the cam groove 88 is, at the beginning of the operation of the apparatus, in alignmenty with the cam pin 80 due to the fact that when the cam drum 35 is returned to its normal position, as shown in the drawings, the spring 5I will be compressed slightly and will urge the pin 68 to assume the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 8. When the cam drum is rotated counter-clockwise, as shown in Fig. '1, the cam pin 60 will ride in the portion 8I of the cam groove 88 until it engages a shiftable cam plate 82, which is normally urged to the position shown in Fig. 8 by a compression spring 83 set into a pocket 84 formed in the cam drum 3.5. I'he cam plate 82 is formed on a plate-supporting member 85, the left end (Fig. 8) of which abuts the compression spring 83. When the cam pin 60 is moved to the right (Fig. 8) by the portion 8l of the cam groove 88, the yoke 58 will compress the spring 53 and, accordingly, when the cam drum 35 is rotated to a position where the pin 60 engages the cam plate 82, pressure will be exerted tending to compress the spring 83 and shift the cam plate 82'to the left. However,

the engagement of the pin 3l)k with the sui-ieee 81 of the groove 88, at which time the spring 5I, being under compression, will cause the pin 88 to shift back to the position shown in Fig, '1.

In the operation of the apparatus. the guide actuating bar 83 will be shifted to the right and left (Fig. 1) by the cam drum 35 and an operator having rst attached the end of a filament I2 to a mandrel inserted in the chuck I8 by passing the end of the filament I2 through the aperture 2i and around the two pins I8, may completely form the helices of the filament I2 by simply rotating the hand wheel 31 in a direction to move the cam drum counter-clockwise (Fig. '1) and then returning the hand wheel to its original position by rotating the cam drum counter-clockwise, as viewedlin Fig. 7. As the cam drum is rotated counter-clockwise (Fig. 7), the guide actuating rod 83 will move to the right (Figs. 1

and 4) simultaneously with the rotation of the shaft 38 in a clockwise direction (Fig. 7) Since the mandrel II rotates with the shaft 38, a helical winding of illament I2 will be applied to 4the main body portion I3 of the mandrel until the mandrel is shifted to a position where the guide tubes 12 and 13 are in alignment with the reduced portion Il of the mandrel. At this time, the guide actuating rod 83 will be forced to move back to the left while the mandrel is still rotating clockwise, thus to bring the filamenty I2 down under the end of the pin 28, which is shown extending downwardly in Fig. 2. Thereupon, the drum may be rotated in a clockwise direction through gears 88 and 40 to rotate the shaft 39 counter-clockwise (Fig. 7), thus to form the other helix on the main body porthis spring pressure will not be sufficient to shift the plate 83 until thecam pin 68 engages the surface 86 of the cam groove, at which time the pin 68 will pass into a lefthand portion 81 of the cam groove'80. When the pin BIJ engages the end of the cam groove shown at the top in Fig. 8, the cam drum 35 cannot be rotated farther in this direction and, therefore, its direc-l tion must be reversed. When the cam pin 6I) disengages from the plate 82, the plate 82 will snap tol the position shown in Fig. 8 and, accordingly, upon reversal of the oscillatory movement of the cam drum, the pin 6I) will travel in the portion 81 of the double cam groove until rotation ofthe cam'drum 35 is stopped due to 1. In a lament winding apparatus. filament guiding means, a rotatable mandrel, means for rotating the mandrel in opposite directions, and means -for imparting relative reciprocation to the guiding means with respect to the mandrel including actuating means for moving the guiding means relative to the mandrel in one direction during rotation of the mandrel in one direction to lay a helix of a filament coil on the mandrel, and a second actuating means for moving the guiding means in an opposite direction during rotation of the mandrel in an opposite direction to lay a second helix on the mandrel in the space intermediate the'lay of the firstmentioned helix.

2. In a filament winding apparatus, filament guiding means, a rotatable mandrel, a cam drum for moving the guiding means axially of the mandrel, means for rotating the cam drum in opposite directions, said means being operative s upon movement in one direction to move the one direction when the guiding means moves in one direction and for rotating the mandrel in a rev'erse direction when the guiding means is moved in said reverse direction.

3. In a filament winding apparatus, filament guiding means, a rotatable mandrel, a cam drum for moving the guiding means axially of the mandrel, means for rotating the cam drum in opposite directions. and means interconnecting the cam drum and mandrel for rotating the mandrel in one direction when the cam drum rotates in one direction and for rotating the mandrel in the opposite direction when the cam drum rotates in a direction opposite to said one direction to lay one helix of a coil on the mandrel during its rotation in one direction and to interlay a second helix on the mandrel when it.`

rotates in the opposite direction.

4. In a iilament winding apparatus, a mandrel having a chuck entering portion, a reduced end portion, lament engaging pins for engaging the filament to form straight, parallel lead portions, and a pin adjacent the reduced end portion cooperating with one of previously mentioned pins to engage the filament and hold a double spiral twist in the filament.

5. An apparatus for winding a double helix -coii comprising a rotatable mandrel, means for guiding a wire to said mandrel, means for moving said guide relative to said mandrel including ya cam and a driving connection between said cam and mandrel of such ratio that substantially one revolution oi the cam in one direction will produce such a number of revolutions of said mandrel as to form one helix of a double helix coil and one revolution of the cam in the opposite direction will cause a second helix to be laid intermediate the lay of the first helix.

6. An apparatus for winding filaments comprising a mandrel, means for imparting rotation to the mandrel, a iilament supplying means, means for imparting reciprocation to the lament supplying means, and means interconnecting the means for reciprocating the filament supplying means and the means for rotating the mandrel, said means for imparting reciprocation to the filament supporting means including an osciliatable cam drum having a double' cam groove, each groove being operable-to control the lay of one helix on the mandrel. a cam pin extending from the filament supplying means into the cam groove, and resiliently supported means engageabie by the iilament supplying means for shifting the cam pin from one cam groove to the other.

7. In a winding apparatus for winding a lilament into a double helix with the spirals thereof disposed in the same direction, a mandrel, filament guiding means, a. support for said guiding means, means for attaching the guiding means to the support at positions spaced radially of the mandrel, means for reciprocating said support in a path extending axially of the mandrel, and means interconnecting the mandrel and support reciprocating means for rotating the mandrel in one direction when the support is moved in one direction and in an opposite direction when the support moves in an opposite direction, said means for reciprocating the support comprising a double-grooved cam drum having the grooves interconnected at their ends, cam means iixed to the support and extending into the groovein the cam drum, and means for shifting the cam means from one groove to the other at the ends of the grooves.

8. A winding apparatus for winding a double helix coil comprising a rotatable mandrel, means for guiding a strand to said mandrel, means for producing relative movement between said guide means and mandrel' to distribute. the winding including a reversibly rotatable cam having two interconnected grooves, and means engaging in said grooves to cause one helix o said double helix to be formed while engaging in one of said grooves and a second helix to be formed while engaging in the other groove.

9. A winding apparatus for winding a double helix coil comprising a rotatable mandrel, means for guiding a strand to said mandrel, a cam having two helical grooves axially spaced from each other, means engaging said grooves to pro duce a distributing movement between said guide means and mandrel, and means for rotating said cam in one direction to wind one helix of a double helix coll while said means engages one groove and for rotating said cam in the opposite direction while said means engages the other groove to form a second helix between the convolutions of the iirst helix.

10.` In a filament winding apparatus, filament guiding means, a'rotatable mandrel. means for rotating said mandrel in opposite directions, and means for imparting relative reciprocation to the guilding means with respect -to the mandrel4 including a cam having one cam groove for moving the guiding means relative to the mandrel 'in one direction during rotation of the mandrel in one direction to lay a helix of filament coil on the mandrel and having a second cam groove for moving the guiding means in the opposite direction during the rotation of the mandrel in an opposite direction to lay a second helix on the mandrel intermediate the lay of the iirstmentioned helix.

EMIL SIRP. 

